A puff of smoke releases into the air as a dancer takes a drag off a cigarette, seated with their back to the audience. The stage evokes a living room scene:a bookshelf, a side table, an amber water glass, a monstera plant, a lamp. Another dancer also smokes while they look down somberly, illuminated by a glimpse of side lighting. Other dancers busy themselves throughout the room, rearranging books and watering the plant.
This initial scene is part of Adam McGaw’s work Forgiveness Sonata, one of three pieces in Whim W’Him’s Fall ‘24 program that also features choreographers Carlos Franquiz and Noelle Kayser. This is the 10th version of Whim W’Him’s choreographic shindig program, in which the company dancers select choreographers to work with from an open application process. All seven company dancers (Jacob Beasley, Owen Fulton, Stella Jacobs, Aliya Janov, Daeyana Moss, Ashley Rivette, and Kyle Sangil) dance in every work.
After the living room scene has settled, Forgiveness Sonata explodes into choreographic overwhelm. It is as though a director took the most climatic images from a much longer work and put them on stage all at the same time. It works. While it is impossible for the audience to see everything, these stacked moments are striking to watch and create a sense of stress and disarray. One dancer catapults themselves at another on the ground. Wild inversion based partnering occurs on the other side of the stage with virtually no preparation. This choreographic maximalism has an “I can’t believe my eyes” effect that is helpful in building the stakes of the piece. Everything is falling apart at the same time.
Dramatic moments with props break up the piece and move the story along. At one point two dancers tip the bookshelf over into another dancer, and it crashes to the floor covering the dancer in books. Later in the work, a dancer hurls a drink at another in order to end an increasingly intense solo. Also moving the story along is a gradual shift in the choreography from upright movement to more off kilter dancing. It’s like they are performing on a ship that is becoming rockier over time. The use of smoking in this work creates visual clouds that match some of what is happening in the choreography. Short puffs of concentrated dancing dissipate into the atmosphere of the stage, lingering in one way or another.
At one point a dancer takes a seat to watch the stage with their back to the audience, slyly smoking while another dancer evokes struggle through movement. This juxtaposition of desperation and apathy is a key theme of the work, building in intensity as the piece progresses.
The movement quality and choreographic timing of McGaw’s work is off the charts. It is tremendously captivating, and I have never seen anything like it before. The choreography is dynamic and deeply developed. Perhaps the most impressive part is that it is continuously different throughout the work. The dance vocabulary builds on its own uniqueness, inventing new movements that fit into the same world rather than reusing movements. As an audience member it feels as though this work would take years to both create and polish to this level of performance – a testament to both McGaw’s talent and the caliber of the dancers. Forgiveness Sonata is spectacular and the highlight of the night.
The next work is Carlos Franquiz’s The Seed Of Embracement. The program notes end with the sentiment that “No matter how many times we try to sweep something under the rug without addressing it together we can’t accomplish the act of moving forward.” The stage setup features two rugs, one with a bench placed on top of it.
Unfortunately, this work is bland. While danced beautifully, the choreography features generic lifts, slides, and counterbalances that don’t progress throughout the work. It seems as though the majority of the partnering follows a formula (something like slide, reach, counterbalance, directional change) that repeats over and over. There is a lack of dynamics in the movement quality, and the concept is expressed in a cheesy way. The dancers frequently peek under the rug and then put it back down. During one of the resolution points of the work, the dancers pat each other on the arms and look to each other to affirm they’re all okay, which at the time feels both unearned choreographically and gimmicky. Similarly, at another point they wrap themselves in the rug from the stage and hug each other. These moments would better serve the concept by a more nuanced choreographic choice, as well as a progression to get there.
One strong moment from The Seed Of Embracement was Kyle Sangil’s sharp arm movement that led to an unexpected inversion on the couch. This moment was a pointed departure from the structure of the piece.
Bedazzled denim is the costume of choice for Noelle Kayser’s Druid Hills, Wild Bills. This work contains text from Kayser and Judith “Miss Manner’s” Martin. The script pokes fun at societal customs and expectations from birth, including everything from a baby’s expectations to perform for their observers to the specific language that is appropriate for declining an invitation. The dancing compliments this script, with dancers breaking off into duets of cheerful footwork and waving at each other from opposite sides of the stage as they learn how to partake in etiquette.
The formalities of the script at times parallel the formalities on stage, making fun of both of them. It is almost suggesting “Why do we do these moves? Why is dance like this? Isn’t it crazy that dance is like this?” The playful approach to movement softens the uppity vocabulary of the choreography. At one point two dancers hop several times in parallel attitude and it looks like a parody of ballet variations with traveling arabesques.
Overall, this work did an excellent job of integrating societal commentary in a not so serious manner while keeping the audience entertained. It was quite fun to watch.
Fall ‘24 is definitely worth attending from both a choreographic standpoint and to see some truly breathtaking dancing. The range of the dancers is palpable, and you’re sure to see some one-of-the-kind moments on stage.
Fall ‘24 runs September 13-21, 2024 at the Erickson Theater. For more information, visit Whim W’Him’s website.
